My guest today is Michaela Lawrence Jeffery.  Michaela and I met in 2007 and I unknowingly prophesied both our futures!  Michaela shares her wisdom and insights on life and the journey of becoming a mother, including having two miscarriages and what helped make those losses a little less difficult.  Michaela finds great contentment sipping a warm beverage in a local coffee shop while she works on a piece of writing. She’s currently trying her hand at essays. Michaela is  married and has two kiddos. She’s a pastor, has an enormous stack of unfinished and unread books, and loves to be outside. You can find her online at wordhabit.comRemember, be a bunny!  "The Rabbit Listened" by Cori Doerrfeld.Blogs by Michaela: (Mis)carriage: Processing Grace All my childrenMother's Day: is it for me?www.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Brenda Harrington is the CEO and founder of Adaptive Leadership Strategies, LLC. Her reputation for helping clients navigate both obvious and obscure leadership challenges has resulted in leaders throughout the country and around the world contacting her to help them:Increase influence across their organizations Boost productivity and engagementDevelop creative solutions to complex challengesAlign vision among stakeholdersCreate high-functioning, high performing in-person and remote teamsDevelop effective expatriate and reintegration strategies to mitigate business disruptionPrior to establishing the consultancy in 2011, she was the Executive Vice President of a real estate consulting and management firm. As the organization’s senior leader for operations, she provided oversight for Human Resources, Accounting, IT and Consulting. Brenda has also held management positions with AT&T and Mobil Oil Corporation.Brenda helps each client find their authentic leadership style. When needed, she is able to access a variety of assessment tools to reveal professional growth opportunities and potential blind spots to inform the development of engagement objectives.Areas of Focus Influential and authentic leadershipSuccession planning and occupational transitionsIndividual contributor to manager transitionsCross-culture and diversity skill development Global MindsetExpatriate integration and reintegrationConnect with Brenda:  https://adaptiveleadershipstrategies.comwww.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

In this episode Lisa shares ideas around change and transition.  Some people thrive in change, others really struggle with it.  Change is an event.  Transition is a psychological process with 3 phases: ending, neutral zone, new beginning.   Based on William Bridges' Transition Process Model, Lisa discusses the difference between change and transition, shares stories demonstrating the change and transition processes, and ideas on how to lessen the difficulty of change.A deeper understanding of the impact of change (through the transition process) helps us respond to and manage this experience that happens over and over in our lives.  Some changes are significant and may take years to go through the full transition process.  Other changes are fairly minor and we'll process them within minutes.  Keep in mind that each person processes the transitions in their lives at different paces.  Two people going through the exact same change may have very different journeys through the transition process.Read more at William Bridges website Click here for : Books on TransitionsBlog: The Trials of Transitionswww.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Titus Mott is a friend and fellow sojourner (aka tortured soul!).  He is a huge influence in my life and the reason why I dipped my toe into the podcasting world.This conversation with Titus is fun, meaningful, exploratory, and highlights the idea that making life less difficult doesn't need to be strenuous and isn't about making life easy.Enjoy the listen and follow Titus on Instagram @thearthriticathlete.www.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Russ is a leadership coach, a health & wellness coach and facilitator of organizationaldevelopment who works with leaders to find their own trail to reach their potential byusing mindfulness, the ability to assess situations and behaviors objectively,compassion, humor, and authentic support. Russ works to develop leadershipawareness for the betterment of themselves, their communities, and institutions. Hehas strengthened and encouraged hundreds of clients in understanding their patterns,potential, strengths and weaknesses, thus providing a richer understanding ofthemselves and the culture and relations they are surrounded by.He is also currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Institute forTransformation Leadership Health and Wellness coaching Certificate as well as BocconiUniversity in the MaSEM program (Master in Sustainability &, Energy Management)teaching a course on Social Entrepreneurship. He is also the founder & CEO of TheWatts Group focusing on leadership coaching and Founding Partner at Solutions forOnline Integrated Learning and a managing partner and Chief Learning Officer of iLEAPand the Global Leadership Academy.He has a background in Education and Organizational Development, and an ExecutiveMaster’s Degree in Leadership (M.L.) from the Georgetown University McDonoughSchool of Business. He is a graduate from the Executive Leadership Coach training fromGeorgetown University and holds a PCC level of certification from the InternationalCoach Federation (ICF), Health and Wellness certified coach (NBC-HWC) and is a MasterIntegral Facilitator.Some of his other passions include mountaineering, river kayaking, ultra-running, rockclimbing, cooking, and photography that have allowed him to stand on Denali,Kilimanjaro, and climb Half Dome and Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite. Most recently, heran 277km across the Alps over 8 days in the Trans Alpine Run.Make Life Less DifficultMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Lisa share more of her story and who she is.It can feel overwhelming to tell your story.  Where do you begin?  How much do you tell?  What events should you share and which ones shouldn't be shared?  Everyone has a story to tell.  Everyone actually has SO many stories to tell!  Why don't you pick one of your stories and tell it to someone today!  Stories connect us and help us know we're not alone.  And this can help make life less difficult!www.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Lisa spends  a little time exploring and explaining who she is.  There are many titles we all hold over the course of our lives.  Listing them all out can be a fun and rewarding exercise.  Often we do and are WAY more than we give ourselves credit for.  Take a few minutes to list out all of your titles and roles in life.  You may be surprised at what you discover!www.makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra

Welcome to the first episode of the Make Life Less Difficult Podcast!If you like what you hear, consider reaching out and sharing your story!  Email: lisa@makelifelessdifficult.comwww: makelifelessdifficult.comMake Life Less Difficult~ Support:buymeacoffee.com/lisatilstra